A bumper offering of Beswick and Border Fine Arts in Tennants Auctioneers’ Antiques and Interiors Sale on 21st June demonstrated the continuing enthusiasm amongst buyers for these deeply rural collectables. Traditionally bought by the farming community, a raft of bidders from across the country took part in the 250-lot sale, which achieved a total hammer price of £41,910 with only five lots unsold.
Notably in demand were limited edition Border Fine Arts and Beswick models in rare colours, with strong prices achieved for those lots which were from limited editions of 500 or fewer. Highlights of the sale included the Border Fine Arts models ‘Learning the Trade’ by Ray Ayres (sold for £1,600 plus buyer’s premium) and ‘Welsh Black Cow and Calf’ by David Mayer (sold for £600 plus buyer’s premium).
Between 1974 and 2016 Border Fine Arts produced naturalistic figurines and tableaux of wildlife and rural scenes, which drew inspiration from the countryside surrounding their factory in Langholm in the Scottish Borders. Attention to detail was paramount at Border Fine Arts. Alongside their desire to capture the essence of rural life and its changes over the past 50 years, each piece was the result of close study from nature and time and great effort was taken to ensure realistic portrayals of their subject. Many of the most famous figures produced by Border Fine Arts represent a bygone era and evoke a deep sense of nostalgia for collectors; from scenes of heavy horses pulling the plough to a depiction of a picnic being eaten out of the back of a Morris Traveller, memories of a lost way of life are stirred.
